Ruling on sale
of low-cost units to curb speculation 03/02/1998
NST
KUALA LUMPUR, Mon. - The Government, determined to curb speculation, has made
a ruling that owners of new low-cost houses can sell them only to the National
Housing Corporation for a small profit. Deputy Housing and Local Government
Minister Datuk Azmi Khalid said this would deter those who buy low-cost houses
for speculation.

Developer urged
to hand over land 06/02/1998 NST-LTIMES
SIME UEP Berhad, the developer of the Subang Jaya and USJ housing estates,
has been urged to hand over a parcel of land earmarked for a wet market- cum-hawker
centre at USJ 10 in the Taipan Triangle to the Subang Jaya Municipal Council.
Councillor Yap Yun Fatt said the developer had not handed over the 0.8ha plot
although the council had written to the company last year.

Maintenance
fee charged a rip-off 11/02/1998 MM By Pauline Almeida;
Hasnita Shaari
TING of Kuala Lumpur wants the developer of Regina Court in Bandar Baru Ampang
to explain what the maintenance fee covers. He says the developer, Melembung
and Perumahan Sdn Bhd, handed over vacant possession of his unit last April
and subsequently in September, a notice was sent informing him to pay RM40
monthly in maintenance fee.

Residents can
seek legal action 13/02/1998 MM-BWK
THE Bangsar Baru Residents' Association will support its members who wish
to take the long-standing problem related to their leaking underground home
sewage lines to court, in an effort to solve the matter once and for all.
Its president, Vijayan Somasundram, said the association was prepared to back
any action group formed by the affected residents in their legal suit, if
both parties responsible for repairing the cracked sewage lines, namely City
Hall and Indah Water, failed to find a compromise among themselves

Cheque ready
soon 13/02/1998 MM By Pauline Almeida; Dennis Chua; Hasnita
Shaari
SITI of Ampang is fed up with a developer who has failed to refund a deposit
of RM3,573.60 for a booking she cancelled seven months ago. "I booked an apartment
in Taman Samudra Phase 3B in early 1997 and had to pay the deposit. But I
couldn't get a loan," she says.

25-year wait
for land finally over 14/02/1998 NST-LTIMES By Rosnazura
Idrus
KAMPUNG Pasir Tambahan squatters' 25-year wait to have land to call their
own finally bore fruit when they were presented with offer letters for land
titles yesterday. All 110 of the squatters received the letters from the Hulu
Kelang State Assemblyman Datuk Fuad Hassan, who is also the Selangor Local
Council, Urbanisation and Squatter Committee chairman, at Pusat Bandar Taman
Melawati.

Forest Hill
lot buyers still in the dark after five years 15/02/1998
NSUNT
KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. - Five years have passed since the much publicised launch
of the Forest Hill Country Resort, yet purchasers of orchard lots in the resort
have yet to gain possession of their land. Having paid up to RM34,500 or half
the purchase price, some purchasers claim they have been left in the dark
about the progress of the ill-fated project, which made headlines in 1993
for various breaches of environmental laws.

Project to
begin in three months 15/02/1998 NSUNT
KUALA LUMPUR, Sat.- Forest Hill Country Resort project manager Olympia Land
Berhad has assured purchasers of lots in the project not to worry as work
on a revised version of the project is likely to begin within the next three
months. Olympia also said it will refund the full amount of money paid by
purchasers who decide that they are no longer willing to wait for the finished
products.

Developer fails
to turn up for meeting again 16/02/1998 MM By Jasni Rahim
OFFICIALS of Metroplex Berhad have twice stood up residents of three apartment
blocks in Taman Lembah Maju near Cheras. Residents have been wanting to meet
the developer since they moved in about a year ago.

Developers
finally thinking of the tenants? 17/02/1998 BT By Norma
Cohen
WHO are the customers of a property company. Are they the lenders who finance
development? Or perhaps the institutional investors who will eventually buy
a completed and fully let building? Or are the customers the occupiers, those
who have to pay the rent and operate their businesses within the building?
For far too long, developers in Europe and the US have been preoccupied with
the re-sale value of assets, ignoring the potential for earnings growth through
clever management.

MPPJ to review
condo rental value 17/02/1998 MM By Rosma Omar
RESIDENTS of Cameron Tower, Gasing Heights, stand to pay less in assessment
if their appeal to the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ) is entertained.
The local authority agreed to study the current annual rental value for the
three-room condominium units during a dialogue with residents at the MPPJ
headquarters in Jalan Yong Shook Lin yesterday.

Strata titles: Errant developers to face action 18/02/1998
NST
Seremban, Tues - The State Government has directed the Land and Mines Department
to initiate court action against developers who continue to ignore repeated
reminders to apply for strata titles of completed multi-storey buildings.
Menteri Besar Tan Sri Mohamad Isa Abdul Samad said today the State was disappointed
with the attitude of the developers for ignoring its earlier reminders. Speaking
after chairing the State Land and Mines Action Committee meeting at Wisma
Negeri, he said most of the developers were responsible for projects in Port
Dickson and here. "The department has to date initiated court action against
four developers and the cases are pending," he said.

Developer's
defamation suit against residents struck off 19/02/1998
NST
KUALA LUMPUR, Wed. - A developer, who had filed a combined breach of an agreement
and a defamation action against two residents, had the defamation action struck
out by the High Court today. Judge Datuk R.K. Nathan struck out Faber Union
Sdn Bhd's claim for defamation against Yong Ah Nga and Cheah Wai Lan as the
developer had failed to comply with the Rules of the High Court.

Faber Union
fails in bid to compel land sale 20/02/1998 NST
KUALA LUMPUR, Thurs. - An action by developer Faber Union Sdn Bhd to compel
Telekom Malaysia Bhd to purchase part of its land as agreed was dismissed
by the High Court today as the purchase would contravene the National Land
Code. Judge Datuk R.K. Nathan said Telekom was correct in not buying the land,
although it had made an offer and stopped short of signing a sale and purchase
agreement as the NLC prohibited part of the land to be transferred.

Abandoned Taman
Bistari low-cost project to be revived 24/02/1998 NST
TAIPING, Mon. - The 247 low-cost housebuyers, who were forced to wait for
10 years for their low-cost houses to be completed, can now look forward to
a better future. Buyers of the abandoned Taman Bistari low-cost houses in
Kamunting here were yesterday told that their houses would be redeveloped
by a new developer, and that they would be able to move in as soon as the
project was completed.

Happier folk
in Teratai Mewah 25/02/1998 MM
RESIDENTS of Taman Teratai Mewah in Setapak are a lot happier than they have
been the past few years. During a meeting that lasted almost six hours recently,
the building managers, Olympia Property Services Sdn Bhd, assured the residents
they will immediately begin trouble-shooting the problems they have been plagued
with.

Houseowners
in Solok Gurney Satu receive compensation 26/02/1998 NST
PENANG, Wed. - Eight houseowners in Solok Gurney Satu were today paid a total
of RM91,584.21 as compensation for damage caused to their homes by piling
work in an adjacent development project. The compensation, ranging from RM3,600
to RM32,850 per owner, was paid by piling company Bescorp Piling Sdn Bhd after
an agreement on the amount by both sides.